The 'Basílica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre' dates from 1927 and is an important pilgrimage sife for Cuban Catholics. It is the only basilica in Cuba and when many people visit the shrine of the Virgen de Caridad, the patron saint of Cuba, they leave gifts for the Virgin. The most famous of these are the Pulitzer Prize left behind by Ernest Hemingway, and the golden guerrilla that Castro’s mother laid there. The spacious church is located in an elevated position just a little north of the city of Santiago de Cuba. There are some beautiful stained-glass windows to be seen.

Our guide told us that people come from all over Cuba to pray here, and he and our bus driver took time for themselves to do so. An pleasant ride up a hill, passing many people who sell sunflowers, The Virgin's flower, on the roadside. When you arrive there may be people who pluck and sell correopsis blooms for a peso if you can't afford a bouquet of sunflowers to leave at the altar. A nice view all around from outside the church. Inside is beautiful, made even more so by the stained glass and crystal that change the colors above the altar as the sun shifts. Okay tp take photos. There is a gift shop very small gift shop in the church, restrooms near the parking lot. The only problem here are the beggars who hang around the restrooms--they will try to charge three pesos to use the restroom.